33,000 People In Guatemala Flee As Massive 'Volcano Of Fire' Erupts [Photos]

A massive eruption from Guatemala's Volcano of Fire is causing huge evacuations from the surrounding area, including Antigua.

According to the AP, more than 33,000 people are fleeing the area. There are some 17 separate villages around the volcano, which sits about 10 miles from the colonial city of Antigua. Officials said that Antigua isn't currently in danger.

Seismologists say explosions have been coming from the 12,346-foot-high (3,763-meter-high) volcano, which is near the Guatemalan tourist center of Antigua.

The volcano is one of the most active in Central America, last erupting in 2011. In a series of powerful eruptions the mountain hurled thick clouds and ash nearly two miles high. The ash plume is blowing south, and the volcano could keep erupting for up to 12 hours.

"A paroxysm of an eruption is taking place, a great volcanic eruption, with strong explosions and columns of ash," said Gustavo Chicna, a volcanologist with the National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology. He said the cinders spewing from the volcano were settling a half-inch thick in many places.

He said extremely hot gases were also rolling down the sides of the volcano, which was entirely wreathed in ash and smoke. The emergency agency warned that flights through the area could be affected.

There was a general orange alert, the second-highest level, but a red alert south and southeast of the mountain, where, Chicna said, "it's almost in total darkness."